Military and law enforcement operations need the ability to stop or significantly slow a rapidly fleeing maritime vessel without harming the occupants of the fleeing craft. In certain situations, it may also be necessary to incapacitate the occupants of the fleeing vessel. Often, the operators of such vessels are involved with illegal smuggling operations. For effective legal prosecution, law enforcement must capture these individuals with contraband. The problem is that smugglers tend to run when confronted by law enforcement. Resulting high-speed boat chases may last for several hours. In many cases, the fleeing vessel is fast and filled with enough fuel that the law enforcement agency can reach but not catch the fleeing vessel before it enters foreign waters or before the law enforcement watercraft runs out of fuel. Since most smugglers do not fire upon law enforcement when they run, law enforcement is precluded from using lethal means to stop the fleeing vessel.
Previous methods used to stop such fleeing vessels use ropes and/or metallic lines launched ahead of the fleeing vessel with the hope that it will travel over the extended line and pull it into the vessel's propeller. This method is limited in area of coverage and thus is often eluded by maneuverable vessels that simply steer away from the line in the water. Additionally, vessels that do travel over the line often do not get entangled in the line and continue on their way. Further, large vessels with large propellers simply shred the line, cut the line using propeller guards or line cutters, or carry the line along without any degradation in speed. Impeller jet propelled vessels are not susceptible to entanglement with such lines.
Other currently-used capture methods include the use of lines with harpoon-like devices that are fired and attached to the fleeing vessel. The opposite end of the line is secured to the pursuing vessel. This method is limited because it can only be used on fiberglass and wooden hulls and is virtually useless on a hull of substantial thickness or a hull made of steel. Additionally, this method adds an element of risk to the pursuing vessel since dynamic loads between the two vessels connected by a line can be formidable. The loads can cause hull failure, sinking of the vessel and inadvertent injuries and/or loss of life. Further, the tension in the line itself can be sufficient to break the line and send it flying with great lethal capacity toward people on either vessel.